title: Positive inotropic effect of carcinine in the isolated perfused guinea pig heart.
abstract: Carcinine (beta-alanylhistamine) is a recently discovered compound that is present in the hearts of several mammalian species, including man. Although the function of carcinine is unknown, its structural similarity to histamine, a compound known to have profound effects on the mammalian heart, and to carnosine (beta-alanylhistidine), a compound which we have previously shown to serve as a histamine source, led to the hypothesis that carcinine may play a role in mammalian cardiac physiology. We therefore administered several doses of carcinine (10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 micrograms) to isolated, perfused guinea pig hearts in a Langendorff apparatus. Carcinine exerted a dose-dependent positive inotropic effect, similar to that of histamine. Comparable doses of carnosine yielded no measurable change in contractility. We conclude that carcinine appears to be a positive inotrope in the mammalian heart, and may play a role in cardiac physiology via its metabolic link to histamine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Brotman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flancbaum
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002336:Carnosine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; D002336:Carnosine; C015055:carcinine